Today I'm so excited to have an author who wrote the first series that got me hooked on Urban Fantasies. Please welcome the wonderful Carrie Vaughn who is hear to talk about her latest Kitty Norville novel. Stay tuned this weekend for my review of Kitty Steals the Show and I'll be giving away a copy for one lucky follower today and another chance for an extra entry this weekend.
SNR: Hi Carrie, thank you so much for being a guest author on Seeing Night Reviews. Let’s get started with some questions J
SNR: Can you tell us a little bit in your own words about Kitty Steals the Show (book 10! Can’t believe it!)
CV: Kitty goes to London for a conference on paranormal studies. It's her chance to see how vampires and werewolves and the like interact in another country, and she reunites with some old friends along the way. London's one of my favorite cities in the world so I was incredibly happy to set a book there.
SNR: What do you enjoy most when writing a scene with Kitty; I’ve always been a fan of her snarky sarcastic attitude.
CV: I enjoy not always knowing what Kitty's going to say. When the writing's going well, the words flow, and she really does seem to "take over." I'm always adding quotes around things that she just thinks about in the first draft, because I realized early on that one of her charms is that she doesn't have much of an internal editor. She really will just say it. I love having the other characters react to that.
SNR: I’m a big fan of Cormac and was happy to have him back in the last two books. How do you feel he's grown as a character especially after being in jail?
CV: I'm always happy writing about Cormac. In fact, I'm planning a spin-off novel starring him. His development happened in a roundabout way. I wanted to bring more magic to the series, and have some recurring magician characters. I also didn't want him to just sit around being bored in prison. The storyline of what happened to him developed from there. (The whole story gets told in a novella in the collection Kitty's Greatest Hits.) So, two different ideas came together in an unexpected way, but I've been having fun with the results.
SNR: Now that the 10th book is coming out is it challenging to figure out where you want Kitty and crew to go next?
CV: Not really. What seems to happen is I have more ideas that will fit in any individual book, so I have to save the leftover ideas for the next book. As long as that keeps happening, I'll always have something to write about. I've also had a general arc in mind, at least for the last few books, so I know in general where the gang is going.
SNR: In Kitty Steals the Show we get some old allies that are back. Is there a character that you want to bring back that hasn’t made another appearance?
CV: It seems like I add a couple of new characters in each book, and I never have time to bring them all back. Kitty Steals the Show was fun because I did get to bring back a handful of characters from way back -- books 2 and 4 -- and include them in the new adventure.
SNR: Ben and Cormac are two guys that I love to read about. What are some tidbits you like most about them?
CV: I like that they're cousins, they grew up together. It gives them a strong connection that I like writing about. I like their background in rural Colorado, which is something that's familiar, being in my own backyard as it is. For me, it's a real, concrete background that I don't see in these kinds of books very often.
SNR: Do you have any interesting quirks when writing? Example: listening to certain music, watching tv, writing in a certain spot in the house, etc.
CV: I listen to music, that's about the only quirk. I like having the sound on to keep my mind focused. Otherwise, I write on a computer at a desk, boring-like.
SNR: Do you have a favorite story/book in the series or favorite scene?
CV: My favorite is usually the one I've just finished, or the one I'm working on. Each book usually has a favorite scene, one that did exactly what I wanted it to and really delivered a punch. At this point, I see the books as one whole big thing, so I don't necessarily keep it separate in my mind.
SNR: Who are some of your favorite writers or books?
CV: I have a bunch, and my list always seems to be changing. Robin McKinley and Patricia McKillip are two of my favorite fantasy authors, I've read just about everything they've written. McKinley's The Blue Sword is probably one of my favorite books of all time. I've also been reading a lot of Peter Beagle lately. Ray Bradbury is an old favorite. Lately, I've been reading a lot of science fiction: James S.A. Corey, Iain M. Bands, and China Mieville.
SNR: Can you tell us what you’re working on next?
CV: I've just finished up the twelfth Kitty novel (I haven't quite settled on a title yet). I'm working on a number of short stories and a sequel to my superhero novel, After the Golden Age. After that, more Kitty!
CV: Kitty goes to London for a conference on paranormal studies. It's her chance to see how vampires and werewolves and the like interact in another country, and she reunites with some old friends along the way. London's one of my favorite cities in the world so I was incredibly happy to set a book there.
SNR: What do you enjoy most when writing a scene with Kitty; I’ve always been a fan of her snarky sarcastic attitude.
CV: I enjoy not always knowing what Kitty's going to say. When the writing's going well, the words flow, and she really does seem to "take over." I'm always adding quotes around things that she just thinks about in the first draft, because I realized early on that one of her charms is that she doesn't have much of an internal editor. She really will just say it. I love having the other characters react to that.
SNR: I’m a big fan of Cormac and was happy to have him back in the last two books. How do you feel he's grown as a character especially after being in jail?
CV: I'm always happy writing about Cormac. In fact, I'm planning a spin-off novel starring him. His development happened in a roundabout way. I wanted to bring more magic to the series, and have some recurring magician characters. I also didn't want him to just sit around being bored in prison. The storyline of what happened to him developed from there. (The whole story gets told in a novella in the collection Kitty's Greatest Hits.) So, two different ideas came together in an unexpected way, but I've been having fun with the results.
SNR: Now that the 10th book is coming out is it challenging to figure out where you want Kitty and crew to go next?
CV: Not really. What seems to happen is I have more ideas that will fit in any individual book, so I have to save the leftover ideas for the next book. As long as that keeps happening, I'll always have something to write about. I've also had a general arc in mind, at least for the last few books, so I know in general where the gang is going.
SNR: In Kitty Steals the Show we get some old allies that are back. Is there a character that you want to bring back that hasn’t made another appearance?
CV: It seems like I add a couple of new characters in each book, and I never have time to bring them all back. Kitty Steals the Show was fun because I did get to bring back a handful of characters from way back -- books 2 and 4 -- and include them in the new adventure.
SNR: Ben and Cormac are two guys that I love to read about. What are some tidbits you like most about them?
CV: I like that they're cousins, they grew up together. It gives them a strong connection that I like writing about. I like their background in rural Colorado, which is something that's familiar, being in my own backyard as it is. For me, it's a real, concrete background that I don't see in these kinds of books very often.
SNR: Do you have any interesting quirks when writing? Example: listening to certain music, watching tv, writing in a certain spot in the house, etc.
CV: I listen to music, that's about the only quirk. I like having the sound on to keep my mind focused. Otherwise, I write on a computer at a desk, boring-like.
SNR: Do you have a favorite story/book in the series or favorite scene?
CV: My favorite is usually the one I've just finished, or the one I'm working on. Each book usually has a favorite scene, one that did exactly what I wanted it to and really delivered a punch. At this point, I see the books as one whole big thing, so I don't necessarily keep it separate in my mind.
SNR: Who are some of your favorite writers or books?
CV: I have a bunch, and my list always seems to be changing. Robin McKinley and Patricia McKillip are two of my favorite fantasy authors, I've read just about everything they've written. McKinley's The Blue Sword is probably one of my favorite books of all time. I've also been reading a lot of Peter Beagle lately. Ray Bradbury is an old favorite. Lately, I've been reading a lot of science fiction: James S.A. Corey, Iain M. Bands, and China Mieville.
SNR: Can you tell us what you’re working on next?
CV: I've just finished up the twelfth Kitty novel (I haven't quite settled on a title yet). I'm working on a number of short stories and a sequel to my superhero novel, After the Golden Age. After that, more Kitty!
Awww, I love hearing about how when Vaughn's in the flow of writing Kitty just sort of takes over, because she's such a snarky powerful character. That is precisely how I like them.
ReplyDeleteTBH, I actually haven't read any of these books yet, but I've REALLY been wanting to because I loved After the Golden Age!
Sadly I haven't read this series yet but it is up on my list to read based on the wonderful reviews like the one above.
ReplyDeleteI love that there are usually left over ideas that Carrie saves for the next book, because that means she'll keep on writing about Kitty. My favorite series character is Kitty, but I like Cormac too.
ReplyDeleteI liked that there are more coming. And Cormac is one of my favorites.
ReplyDeleteLondon is a fabulous city for a setting.
ReplyDelete